Wine 2.0 Board of Advisors

Wine 2.0 Management Team

J. Smoke WallinChairmanSmoke is CEO and Founder of Taliera Holdings, LLC. Taliera is a company formed to acquire and manage brands and businesses in the beverage industry. He is the founder of, and Co-Chairs the Wine Industry Technology Symposium (WITS). He is also Chairman & CEO of eSkye Solutions, the leading provider of web based national account software to the beverage alcohol industry.

Smoke graduated Cornell University in 1989 with a B.A. in Agricultural Economics. He received an MBA from Vanderbilt’s business school in 1993. Smoke began his career in the consumer packaged goods industry (CPG) with National Wine and Spirits (NWS) in Seagram’s Retail Account Management Training Program. In 1991, he founded Cameron Springs Water Company which became the #1 in its market and sold to Nestle in 2000. Smoke moved into the corporate division of NWS, eventually becoming EVP, CFO, and a member of the Board of Directors until 2004. In 1999, Smoke formed eSkye Solutions, Inc., a technology company with solutions for the Beverage industry. eSkye’s software division sold to Constellation Software, a publicly traded company in late 2007. Smoke formed Taliera in 2006. Throughout his business career he has led or participated in 19 acquisitions and/or divestitures, raised several hundred million dollars in debt and equity publicly and privately and co-founded 7 companies.

For 8 years Smoke served on the Board of the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America, serving as President, and then Chairman, from 2002-2004. An industry expert Smoke is a frequent speaker to the beverage & retail industries and financial community. Smoke also served as Chairman for the Indianapolis Foundation for Junior Achievement from 2001-2007 and is currently President of the Alumni Board at the Owen business School at Vanderbilt University. Smoke has been a member of YPO since 2003. He is an Eagle Scout and volunteers with troop #56 of the Boy Scouts of America.

Cornelius GearyCEO/Co-founderCornelius is CEO and Co-Founder of RadCru Inc., a winery direct marketplace that helps small winemakers market their wines direct to the consumer. He has primarily worked in marketing and business development for Internet focused start ups, including as Director of Business Development at Auctionworks (Now Marketworks) eBay’s largest 3rd party developer with over 2 million listings at any-one-time. Cornelius Co-Founded Extrastock.com.au in Australia which partnered with eBay Australia and is now one of eBay Australia’s largest resellers. While in Australia he became interested in the wine business after selling thousands of cases for some of Australia’s best known wineries on eBay Australia. After selling his stake in Extrastock, he returned to the U.S. and Co-Founded Wine Blast, a wine tasting and education group with over 4,000 members.

Jeffrey PlayterCo-founder/DirectorJeffrey has worked for one of the largest privately held printing company in the world for 16+ years. His role as an electronic communications specialist in the marketing/communications department helped facilitate multi-million dollar accounts with major catalogers and publishing groups throughout the United States. Jeffrey has supported the printing firms senior management and sales force by developing marketing materials, presentations and technical solutions that aid in the overall sales process and corporate marketing initiatives.

Jeffrey is Chief Operating Officer and co-founder of RadCru, Inc. He also co-Founded the Wine Blast wine tasting and education group and has been studying the intricacies of wine for years.

Lesley BerglundChairman, WISE AcademyCEO, Aged Cabernet TrustLesley is an accomplished wine industry entrepreneur and CEO with a focus on change management. Over the past 17 years in the wine industry she has started up the equivalent of seven new businesses, acquired and integrated four companies and led during periods of dramatic change. As co-founder and former CEO of the Ambrosia Wine Catalogue/the Winetasting Network (which she sold to 1-800 Flowers in 2004) she has deep experience in consumer direct marketing of fine wines. Lesley has served on the board of nine wine-related companies and trade associations. In 2006, she co-founded the Specialty Wine Retailers Association. In 2008, she co-founded the WISE Academy, which provides education, training and certification for winery consumer direct professionals. Lesley serves as co-chair of both the Wine Industry Technology Symposium and the Green Wine Summit. She also owns and operates the Aged Cabernet Trust, an aged Cabernet investment company that has provided successful returns to investors for the past 25 vintages.

Abdi HumphriesDirector of SalesAbdi Humphries (pronounced Ab-die) joined Wine 2.0 in 2008 in preparation for Wine 2.0 NY. He runs A Humphries Wine Marketing out of Napa California, focusing on consulting with wineries and retailers on Direct-to-Consumer sales and marketing plans. His independent consulting work follows a career in the high-end wine industry, most recently as Director of Sales for Vinfolio in San Francisco. Previously, Abdi worked at Dean & DeLuca as Director of Wine Sales, developing D & D Wine, LLC. from the ground up in only five months. Along the way, he tasted over 3,000 wines annually to develop the Dean & DeLuca Catalog, website, and sales team. His focus has always been on the customer and vendor, treating each and every relationship as he would family.

Prior to Dean & DeLuca, Abdi developed Sales Management at Bounty Hunter Rare Wine Company in Napa, driving a customer service group towards success while finishing his MBA at the University of Phoenix. Prior to that, he worked for two years as Manager of Hospitality at Sebastiani and three years in Japan working for chef Roy Yamaguchi as Regional Manager.

Abdi has had the opportunity to travel to 32 countries worldwide during the past 12 years, visiting third-world countries on one hand and esteemed wine properties throughout Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and the Western United States on the other.

Abdi is active in his community, serving as Vice Chair for the American Red Cross Napa County Chapter, heading the governance committee and working with the Executive Committee on long-term strategies for the non-profit. He also serves on the board for the Napa Valley Symphony and actively volunteers for Cancer research fund-raisers, AIDS charities, and the Boy’s & Girl’s Club.

About Wine 2.0™

“Blending the Line Between Wine & Technology”

Wine 2.0™ is the innovator in social networking and events in the wine industry. With a focus on the next generation wine consumer, Wine 2.0 breaks down the barriers to learning about, experiencing, and enjoying wine. Wine 2.0 events feature a rich diversity of world class wines and the newest generation of emerging technology companies, services and communication tools that are changing the world of wine.

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